Claudio Ranieri insists his immediate impact at Leicester cannot be used to judge Antonio Conte, equating last season's Premier League title triumph to the winemaker who achieves a once-in-a-generation vintage.

The Leicester manager called the 2015-16 campaign a special bottle and said compatriot Conte would instead require a year to squeeze the best from his players.

Conte enjoyed good form initially but has won only one of the past four Premier League games, suffering defeats to Liverpool and Arsenal, and is already looking to January for reinforcements.

Claudio Ranieri thinks his impact at Leicester should not be used to criticise Antonio Conte

The Chelsea manager deserves patience to implement his methods according to Ranieri

The Foxes boss is preparing his side to visit Stanford Bridge in the early Saturday kick-off

Ranieri backed Leicester’s opponents in Saturday's early kick-off to finish the campaign in the top four but stressed time was required for the Chelsea manager to shift the style of play to his desires.

Ranieri did though warn that failure to qualify for next season's Champions League may curtail Conte's process early.

When asked why he had not required any time to enact the greatest upset in Premier League history, Ranieri said with a laugh: 'Because I am special! It was special year. It is like a vineyard, no? The man works the ground every year but there is one year when the wine is fantastic.

I keep this bottle.' He added: 'I think at the end Chelsea will be in the top four. Conte is working very, very well and hard. It is not easy to change the players’ philosophy. They were used to some training sessions and Conte changed everything.’

Ranieri has experience of Roman Abramovich’s eagerness for success having been sacked by the Chelsea owner in 2004 despite coming second and reaching the Champions League semi-finals.

'It is different because when I came to England Chelsea was under Ruud Gullit and Gianluca Vialli and then the process was very close. With Vialli it was Italian style and with Gullit he had played in Italy so it was similar.

Riyad Mahrez was one of the most important players in Ranieri's 'special year' last term

Ranieri was one of the favourites for the sack when he first took charge of the champions

ANTONIO CONTE'S LAST FIVE MATCHES

Win 2-0 vs Hull City (A)

Loss 3-0 vs Arsenal (A)

Win 4-2 vs Leicester (League Cup, A)

Loss 2-1 vs Liverpool (H)

Draw 2-2 vs Swansea (A)

'Now it is more difficult for Conte than me. It is a different philosophy. Our Italian philosophy is to work hard, more time every day, work with and without the ball. Chelsea players aren’t used to this.

They are used to just one training session a day and always with the ball. It is important now that the players follow him.’

At the start of the season Ranieri predicted casualties among the Premier League’s elite managers with only four Champions League spots up for grabs as Pep Guardiola, Jose Mourinho, Jurgen Klopp, Arsene Wenger, Mauricio Pochettino and Conte target the same prize.

‘There are so many good teams and they are fighting to win the title and go into the Champions League,’ said Ranieri. 'Only one can win. The others… I can imagine. I am speaking as a football man, but I am not a president or owner of a club who has spent maybe £200 million.’